Maryland Intellectual Property Blog

Here are several IP-related stories and news items that I found valuable or interesting:
* The Maryland IP Law Blog reports that Patent Secrecy Act activity was down in 2008, with a significant reduction in issuance of new secrecy orders — down to 68 in 2008 from 128 in 2009 — and existing secrecy orders down about .5% to 5,023 total in FY 2008 — click here to read the post.
* Daily Writing Tips warns against genericide — the death of a trademark caused by using the mark as a generic term — and gives numerous examples.
* A sincere thank you to Patent Baristas; Rush on Business; and Securing Innovation. I do not buy into the blog awards or best blog lists, but it is an honor to be nominated for Blawg Review of the year by such accomplished bloggers and lawyers. My 2008 Blawg Review was an ode to world record swims and America’s favorite Olympic son Michael Phelps — click here to read it.

Continue Reading Legal News

Since my last post listing the Blog’s “cousin” blogs — regional IP blogs – another has joined the family. The Los Angeles Intellectual Property Trademark Attorney Blog, published by Milord & Associates. Welcome to the family. Here is the revised list:
Australian Trademarks Law Blog*
Canadian Trademark Blog
Delaware IP Law Blog
E. D. Texas Blog
Florida IP Blog*
Illinois Trial Pratice Weblog (okay, it is not IP specific, but it is regional and provides excellent content)
IP Dragon(China)
IP Legal Lounge
Las Vegas Trademark Attorney
Los Angeles Intellectual Property Trademark Attorney Blog
Maryland Intellectual Property Law Blog*
Patent Trademark Blog(some Orange County focus)
Seattle Trademark Lawyer Blog
Tech Law Forum Blog (N.D. Cal.)
If you know of other regional IP blogs, post a comment or send me an email and I will add them to the list. A hat tip to Mike Atkins for pointing out the new blog at his Seattle Trademark Lawyer blog.
*These are blogs developed and hosted by LexBlog just like this Blog.

Continue Reading New Regional IP Blogs

Usually I post a holiday-related patent on major holidays (which Halloween is in my house). But in light of today’s Eastern District of Virginia preliminary injunction hearing regarding whether to allow the PTO’s new continuation rules to take effect tomorrow, November 1, as planned, I thought a post on the continuation rules was more appropriate. The patent world, and more particularly the patent prosecution world, has been busy analyzing and preparing for the new continuation rules for several months. For analysis of the new rules check out the Maryland Intellectual Property Law Blog (click here and here) and the 271 Patent Blog (click here).
While most were just probing the rules for loopholes or preparing to comply with them, two also filed suits in the Eastern District of Virginia seeking to enjoin enactment of the new rules — Triantafyllos Tafas v. Dudas, No. 07 C 846 (E.D. Va.) and SmithKline Beecham Corp./GSK v. Dudas, No 07 C 1008. Click here for Patent Docs’ excellent coverage of the SmithKline/GSK suit.
The two suits were consolidated and a preliminary injunction hearing has been set for today — click here and here to download the briefs at Patently-O. Numerous entities have taken sides, filing amicus briefs — click here for a list of the briefs and links to some of them at the PLI Patent Practice Center Blog. And for those of you who cannot wait to read the result here shortly after it comes out and who are not busy with legal work or preparing for tonight’s trick or treating, click here for the PLI Patent Practice Center Blog’s live blogging coverage of the PI hearing.
Happy Halloween.

Continue Reading Trick or Treat: Have a Preliminary Injunction to Eat

The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday (subscription required) that patent reform is stalled. I blogged last month – Can Patent Reform Cross the Finish Line? – that it appeared that the patent reform efforts in this Congress were in trouble because the reform proponents were not maintaining a unified position. The WSJ’s article suggests that my analysis was correct, although the WSJ focuses on a new critic of the reform legislation – the AFL-CIO. The AFL-CIO argues that the Patent Reform Act of 2007* will cost America, and specifically the AFL-CIO’s members, high tech manufacturing and production jobs. The union is concerned that patent reform would weaken the U.S. patent system, thereby causing high tech manufacturers to send their manufacturing and production work overseas where they will receive relatively stronger patent protection. It is an interesting view on the reform issue that, judging from other blog posts, most people in the IP community had not considered: FileWrapper.
* For more analysis of the Patent Reform Act of 2007 check out the Blog’s archives or the Maryland IP Law Blog’s excellent five part series on the Act: 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.

Continue Reading Is the Patent Reform Act Stalled?